Score: A-

Another really enjoyable episode from this Precure season! A light mystery about finding a missing cat was the main focus, but I think the highlight was the next round in the matchup between the Precure. All the more so with our lead heroines trying to tackle their opponent before she could even transform! Now that Arcana Shadow has spurned their recruitment offers apparently the gloves are coming off!

Definitely a character!

This episode continues the grand “who is Cure Eclair” hunt. Eliza definitely got to play detective in this episode, is pretty good at it, and certainly would be free to assist since she’s an author and kind of sets her own hours. But I just don’t get the feeling it’s her. The flashback we saw implied that someone was already Cure Eclair. Now we could be looking at lost memories any number of things since the shattering of the Makoto Jewel would’ve been a major event. Maybe it’s just because Eliza is “too much” for me. Her energy is a lot and honestly she’s a bit too good. Luluka is going to eventually bring a genius detective into the mix. Someone that’s interested, but not that good at it would probably fit in a bit better.

Serious effort from Mystique and Answer

Answer and Mystique aren’t messing around! Weren’t they trying to recruit her last episode!? This time they basically tried to kill her over a cat collar! I get that Luluka said where the Makoto Jewel was and that could imply something. But they saw Miiko earlier without her collar. The odds weren’t good that she took the collar off the cat and stood around for half an hour waiting for the Precure to show up. Arcana Shadow isn’t wrong in saying that these two seriously need to improve their observational skills. They were basically outsleuthed by a novelist and charged at someone that wasn’t transformed like raging bulls!

I know they weren’t throwing punches…but that was pretty dangerous. If they actually connected they would have driven Luluka into the dirt and probably break her neck! I know they are serious about this…but let’s calm down a bit! Thankfully observational skills is exactly where Luluka has them beat. She found the cat incredibly fast and had time to enjoy all the cats gathering around her before the others showed up. It was possible thanks to those skills to see their attack coming with enough time to slip out of the way. And that smile! She was so relaxed that she had time to banter with Mashutan before transforming.

Her kick game has kept improving

There’s no doubt that Arcana Shadow is still just a class above. She is throwing more attacks herself now. But at the same time she’s hardly struggling against these two. And I still think she’s very much trying to teach them on top of whatever her main objective actually is. I don’t think she actually wants them to get involved in her mission, but she can’t help giving them the tools to succeed. And they did make use of that advice against the monster of the week. But it just shows how much more experience she has. She caught them offguard during their charge and landed one heck of a kick! There’s no doubt that Arcana Shadow is steadily rising up the ranks of some of my favourite Precure. Her personality is a treat and she’s just got great composure.

Thanks for taking a hit for the team

I can appreciate how the show is working within certain rules and limits. Arcana Shadow doesn’t summon monsters herself, but there MUST be a monster of the week. Those are the rules. So Agesene gets the pleasure of being used to create that monster. It also frees Luluka of having to commit any crimes herself. Once Agesene intervened she had the excuse of going back home and putting the blame on her for interfering. All that matters is that the fragments are being collected. In a sense it doesn’t mater who gets the individual pieces, but rather who gets the fully restored jewel.

Props to Mystique’s rapier

This was a solid episode. The mini-mystery was fine and I’ve got no complaints there. And I love every time that Arcana Shadow has to fight the other Precure since she’s freaking awesome. The main mystery wasn’t really advanced, but that’s fine. I don’t think Luluka’s story will reach it’s peak until the Makoto Jewel is fully restored. Everything seems to center around that event happening. So it’s fine to just have little mysteries that develop the supporting and main cast. All the more so since there is a 4th Precure mystery that is playing out in and outside of the series.